Most Americans Would Rather Tolerate Economic Inequality Than Play Robin Hood: Study

When given the chance to erase the huge financial disparity between the super-rich and the poor, a vast majority of Americans, unfortunately, refused to pull the same heroic feat as Robin Hood.

In a new study conducted in the United States and Germany, political scientists gave 5,000 participants two Amazon gift cards valued at $25, $50, or $75. One of the cards was theirs, while the other is to be shared with another person.

They were then offered the option to move funds from the other card into theirs, free of charge, using the "give-or-take" slide bar.

Results Of The Robin Hood Study

Surprisingly, participants chose to transfer a small amount instead of giving the second card away with untouched funds.

Scientists also noted that most of the richer cardholders were not willing to share their funds with poorer cardholders, while those who were willing to preferred not to take from the rich even when they had the power.

"This suggests that inequality persists in part because individuals are not averse enough to inequality," says Michael Bechtel, coauthor and associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Results of the study also revealed that participants from Germany were more keen on addressing economic inequality rather than those from the United States, and this matches the wealth redistribution programs that currently exist in both nations.

In the absence of such programs, Germany has a higher poverty level at 36 percent than the United States, which only has 32 percent. However, with the implementation of progressive social initiatives, Germany successfully reduced the level to only 20 percent.